Executor Access to Digital Accounts: Your Legal Authority and How to Use It

You've been named executor. You have the will, Letters Testamentary from probate court, and a stack of certified death certificates. You'd think that would be enough to access the deceased's email, close their subscriptions, and recover their crypto holdings.

It usually isn't. Digital accounts operate under a different set of rules than physical property, and most platforms will push back — hard — even when you have valid legal authority.

What RUFADAA Actually Gives You

The Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (RUFADAA), adopted in nearly all US states, governs executor access to digital property. But it doesn't give you a master key. RUFADAA creates a three-tier priority system:

Tier 1 — Platform-level settings: If the deceased configured a Google Inactive Account Manager, Apple Legacy Contact, or Facebook Legacy Contact, those settings override everything — including your will.

Tier 2 — Will or trust language: If no platform tool was set up, the deceased's will or trust controls, but only if it contains explicit language authorizing digital asset access. A generic "all my property" clause isn't enough for most platforms.

Tier 3 — Terms of Service: If neither platform settings nor a will addresses digital assets, the platform's Terms of Service control. Most ToS agreements prohibit third-party access and reserve the right to delete accounts upon death.

The practical result: executors with perfectly valid court authority routinely get stonewalled by platforms citing their own ToS.

What Platforms Actually Accept

Every platform has its own documentation requirements:

Google: Death certificate + government ID. For email content (not just metadata), typically requires a US court order citing "lawful consent."

Apple: A Legacy Contact needs the access key and death certificate to request certain iCloud data. Without a Legacy Contact, Apple generally requires a court order or other legal documentation; requirements differ by region. If Apple approves the request, Activation Lock can be removed, but the device must be erased before another person can use it, and Apple does not provide the account password.

Facebook/Instagram (Meta): Death certificate + proof of relationship or legal authority for deletion. Memorialization only requires proof of death (obituary counts).

Microsoft: Requires a non-criminal subpoena or court order served on their registered agent. No self-service executor process for content access.

Crypto exchanges (Coinbase and Kraken): Both require a death certificate, proof of estate authority, government ID, and a signed letter of instruction. Exact documents differ by exchange; a will alone is not the probate documentation Coinbase requests.

The Catalog vs. Content Distinction

Under the Stored Communications Act, platforms can share a "catalog" of communications — sender names, dates, subject lines — but not the actual content (email bodies, message text) without explicit prior consent from the account holder or a court order. This is the wall most executors hit: you can find out who emailed the deceased, but not what those emails said.

If you need content access, your estate attorney will need to petition the court for a specific order that names the deceased, identifies you as the authorized representative, and states that disclosure constitutes "lawful consent."

Your Digital Executor Checklist

1. Get Letters Testamentary from probate court — this is your primary credential
2. Order certified death certificates — some institutions require separate certified copies, while many platforms accept a scan; check each provider's requirements
3. Secure physical devices (phone, laptop, tablet) before anything else
4. Check for legacy contact configurations on Google, Apple, and Facebook
5. Start with email — the inbox reveals every other account that exists
6. Document everything — keep a log of every platform contacted, documents submitted, and responses received
7. Don't log in with known passwords unless you understand the legal risk — using saved credentials may conflict with a provider's terms or raise unauthorized-access concerns

When You're Stuck

If a platform refuses your request despite valid legal authority:

• Ask them to cite the specific policy or statute they're relying on
• Have your estate attorney send a follow-up letter on firm letterhead
• If they cite the Stored Communications Act, you'll need a court order — there's no shortcut
• Escalate through the platform's legal department, not customer service

The Digital Estate Toolkit includes a fiduciary authority reference card, platform-by-platform documentation requirements, and request letter templates that cite the correct legal frameworks for each provider.